ORIENTAL Mindoro Rep. Paulino Salvador Leachon, House committee on justice chairperson, on Sunday gave the assurance that the 292-strong House of Representatives would immediately act on the consolidated impeachment complaint against seven justices of the Supreme Court when session resumes after the Halloween break.
The plenary will act on the matter during the first week of the resumption of Congress’ session on Nov. 12 after its month-long recess.
“We will act on it immediately in the resumption of session,” Leachon said.
He said the plenary is expected to affirm the recommendation of his panel to junk the impeachment complaint against De Castro, and Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Francis Jardeleza, Noel Tijam, Andres Reyes Jr. and Alexander Gesmundo for being insufficient in substance.
The House committee on justice panel earlier voted 23 against one dismissing the consolidated impeachment complaint over failure to meet the requirement of sufficiency in substance.
The House rules on impeachment provides the complaint can be declared sufficient in substance “if there is a recital of facts constituting the offense charged and determinative of the jurisdiction of the committee.”
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat Jr. and Magdalo party-list Rep. Gary Alejano filed the impeachment rap against the Supreme Court justices.
House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo previously ordered the committee on justice to resolve the complaint at the soonest possible time to ensure that the process would not hamper the approval of the other legislative bills.
The complainants accused De Castro, Peralta, Bersamin, Reyes, Jardeleza, Tijam and Gesmundo of culpable violation of the 1987 Constitution.
The seven justices supposedly took away the powers of Congress to impeach when they voted in favor of granting the quo warranto petition against dismissed Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.